“…Seek, and you shall find…for he that seeks finds…” – Matthew 7-8

Throughout secondary school, my wish in life was to be a professional writer.

However, that aspiration took a massive knock when circumstances forced me to study Sciences instead of Arts at ‘A’ Level.

Of course, I didn’t perform well and consequently went for a science-related post-secondary school qualification.

A few years later, when I felt that I could be a privately sponsored journalism student at the university, my dream took another knock when I was told that I could not study an Arts course when I had a Sciences background at ‘A’ level.

I kept trying everything I could to study my dream course, including pleading with my uncle who was a prominent professor at the same Faculty of Arts to push for me.

It all came to nothing.  But I was not about to give up; I kept praying and trying.

Then one day, while shopping, I bumped into an OB with whom I studied PCB in our ‘A’ level class years earlier.

When I asked what he was doing, I wondered how he ended up in an Arts career when we had studied Sciences together.

He had sat ‘Mature Age’ exams, passed well and got himself admitted at the university to pursue an Arts program, moreover on Government sponsorship.

For me, the timing was just perfect as the next intake would happen in about a month. I asked for leave at work in order to focus properly.

I will never forget the joy I felt when I saw my name on the list of Government-sponsored students.

You’re reading this blog because I am now living my dream.

“Show me any successful person in life and I will show you someone who has had a track record of seeking earnestly and persistently.”

In our meditation today, the Greek word translated ‘seek’ connotes striving after something.  

It implies an active and diligent pursuit of something.

In our meditation today, our Lord Jesus is admonishing us to pursue God and His kingdom with earnestness and persistence.

The same word is used in Psalm 34:14, which says, “Seek peace, and pursue it.”

A good picture of this would be that of a leopard stalking and pursuing an antelope to feed her hungry cubs.

She must deliberately deploy a vigilant strategy and persistent energy if it is to save her cubs from starvation.

While it’s part of a larger teaching about prayer and devotion to God, the core message of ‘seek’ is active, persistent searching for divine Providence and purpose does hold significant meaning today.

Whether you’re seeking a new job, a deeper understanding of a subject, a solution to a personal problem, or spiritual truth, the message is that success often comes to those who keep trying, not those who quit easily.

It’s an encouragement to be proactive rather than passive, like you would seek for gold or diamonds in a mine.

In modern society, where people easily resign to ‘fate’ and have absolutely no sense of purpose, this message is a timeless invitation to embark on a quest for meaning that goes beyond the superficial; for a connection to something greater than themselves.

Jesus deliberately used “seek and you will find,” which is a universal principle of ‘cause and effect’ – implying that the effort you put in is directly proportional to the results you’ll get out.

Show me any successful person in life and I will show you someone who has had a track record of seeking earnestly and persistently.

As the African proverb says, ‘rarely does success find someone seated on a mat.’

We must go beyond mere passive hope and engage in an active, sincere, and ongoing pursuit of what is most important, with the promise that such a quest will be met with success.